ACT IV.

SCENE I. The same. A Room of State.

Enter King HENRY, GLOSTER, EXETER, YORK, SUFFOLK, SOMERSET, WINCHESTER, WARWICK, TALBOT, the Governor of Paris, and Others.

Glo. Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head. Win. God save king Henry, of that name the sixth!

Glo. Now, governor of Paris, take your oath,

[Governor kneels.

That you elect no other king but him;
Esteem none friends, but such as are his friends,
And none your foes, but such as shall pretend'
Malicious practices against his state :
This shall ye do, so help you righteous God!"

[Exeunt Governor and his Train

Pretend was often used in the sense of purpose, or design See Macbeth, Act ii. sc. 3, note 10; and Act ii. sc. 4, note 5. H.

The crowning of King Henry at Paris took place December 17, 1431. Concerning that event Holinshed has the following: "To speake with what honour he was received into the citie of Paris, what pageants were prepared, and how richlie the gates, streets, bridges on everie side were hanged with costlie clothes of arras and tapestrie, it would be too long a processe, and therefore I doo heere passe it over with silence." Nevertheless the occasion was but poorly attended save by foreigners, none of the higher French nobility gracing it with their presence. The ceremony of coronation was of old thought to have a kind of sacramental virtue, confirming the title of a new king, and rendering his person sacred. Thus the crowning of Charles at Rheims, which took place in July, 1429, operated as a charm to engage the loyalty of the people; and it was with this view that Joan of Arc urged it on so vehemently, declaring it the main purpose of her celestial mission and daring the ceremony she stood at the king's side with her banner unfurled, and as soon as it was over fell on her

Enter Sir JOHN FASTOLfe.

Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais,

To haste unto your coronation,

A letter was deliver'd to my hands,

Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy. Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee! I vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next, To tear the garter from thy craven's leg;

[Plucking it off.

Which I have done, because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Patay,?-

When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to one,-
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty squire, did run away:

In which assault we lost twelve hundred men;
Myself, and divers gentlemen beside,

Were there surpris'd, and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of knighthood, yea, or no.

knees, embraced his feet, said her mission was at an end, and begged with tears that she might return to her former station. Charles indeed had been crowned once before, but it was not done at Rheims, the ancient place of that ceremony, and therefore it proved ineffectual. This good old local religion put the regent upon great efforts to have Henry crowned there; but herein he was still bailled, and, after trying about two years, he concluded to have it done at Paris, rather than not at all. The ceremony was performed by the bishop of Winchester, then cardinal.

H.

3 The original has Poictiers, evidently a misprint for Patay as the battle of Poietiers was in 1357, and was made glorious by he neroism and chivalry of the Black Prince. For some account of the battle of Patay, see Act i. sc. 1, note 11.

Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous, And ill beseeming any common man;

Much more a knight, a captain, and a leader.

Tal. When first this order was ordain'd, my lords,
Knights of the garter were of noble birth;
Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage,
Such as were grown to credit by the wars;
Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress,
But always resolute in most extremes.'
He, then, that is not furnish'd in this sort,
Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight,
Profaning this most honourable order;
And should (if I were worthy to be judge)
Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.
King. Stain to thy countrymen! thou hear'st thy
doom:

Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight:
Henceforth we banish thee on pain of death. —
[Exit FASTOLFE.
And now, my lord protector, view the letter
Sent from our uncle, duke of Burgundy.

Glo. What means his grace, that he hath chang'd

his style?

No more but, plain and bluntly,—"To the king!" Hath he forgot he is his sovereign?

Or doth this churlish superscription

3

Pretend some alteration in good will
What's here?

[Reads.] I have upon especial cause,

Mov'd with compassion of my country's wreck,

That is, in greatest extremities.

More and most were used by

our ancestors for greater and greatest.

5 Pretend here bears the literal sense of hold out; not the same as that explained in note 1 of this scene.

H.

Together with the pitiful complaints

Of such as your oppression feeds upon, -
Forsaken your pernicious faction,

And join'd with Charles, the rightful king of France." O, monstrous treachery! Can this be so? That in alliance, amity, and oaths,

There should be found such false dissembling guile?
King. What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt?
Glo. He doth, my lord; and is become your foe
King. Is that the worst this letter doth contain?
Glo. It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes.
King. Why, then, lord Talbot there shall talk
with him,

And give him chastisement for this abuse.
How say you, my lord? are you not content?

Tal. Content, my liege? Yes; but that I am prevented,'

I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd. King. Then gather strength, and march unto him straight:

The matter of this representation is thus given by Holinshed. The duke of Burgognie, to set a veile before the king of Englands eies, sent Thoison Dore his cheefe herald to king Henrie with letters, excusing the matter by way of information, that he was constreined to enter in this league with king Charles, by the dailie outeries, complaints and lamentations of his people; alledg ing against him, that he was the onlie cause of the long continuance of the wars, to the utter impoverishing of his owne people. and the whole nation of France. The superscription of this letter was thus: To the high and mightie prince, Henrie, by the grace of God king of England, his wellbeloved cousine: neither naming him king of France, nor his sovereigne lord, as ever before that time he was accustomed to doo. This letter was much marvelled at of the councell, and they could not but be much disquieted, so far foorth that diverse of them offended so much with the untruth of the duke, that they could not temper their passions, but open lie called him traitor."

H.

Prevented is anticipated. Sce Henry IV., Act i. sc. 2 note 25.

Let him perceive how ill we brook his treason,
And what offence it is to flout his friends.

Tal. I go, my lord, in heart desiring still
You may behold confusion of your foes.

Enter VERNON and BASSET.

[Exit.

Ver. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign! Bas. And me, my lord; grant me the combat too! York. This is my servant: hear him, noble prince! Som. And this is mine: sweet Henry, favour him! King. Be patient, lords, and give them leave to speak.

Say, gentlemen, what makes you thus exclaim? And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom? Ver. With him, my lord; for he hath done me

wrong.

Bas. And I with him; for he hath done me

wrong.

King. What is that wrong whereof you both complain?

First let me know, and then I'll answer you.

Bas. Crossing the sea from England into France,
This fellow, here, with envious carping tongue
Upbraided me about the rose I wear;
Saying, the sanguine colour of the leaves
Did represent my master's blushing cheeks,
When stubbornly he did repugnR the truth
About a certain question in the law,
Argu'd betwixt the duke of York and him;
With other vile and ignominious terms:
In confutation of which rude reproach,

To repugn is to resist. From the Latin repugno.
"Imperfect nature that repugneth law,

Or law too hard that nature doth offend."

Dymock's Il Pastor Fido 1602.